Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing bids for Australia’s Duet Group

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(FILES) Filie photo dated February 26, 2015 shows Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing wishing members of the media a happy lunar new year as he arrives for a press conference in Hong Kong. Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure on December 5, 2016 offered 5.4 billion USD for Australia's Duet Group just months after his bid for the country's largest electricity network was blocked on security grounds. / AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE LOPEZ

Published: 1:14am, 6 Dec 2016Updated: 1:15am, 6 Dec 2016

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. offered A$7.3 billion (US$5.4 billion) in cash for Australia’s Duet Group as it seeks to expand its power and gas pipeline assets.

CKI offered A$3 a share for the infrastructure company -- 28 per cent more than Friday’s close -- Sydney-based Duet said Monday in a statement. The company’s board said it’s evaluating the non-binding and conditional offer that pushed its shares to the highest in eight years.

The bid is the latest attempt by Li to bolster his Australian business this year. The tycoon experienced a setback in August when Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board blocked CKI from buying a majority stake in state-owned power network Ausgrid on security concerns.

“FIRB approvals remain a significant barrier to a deal proceeding,” Paul Johnston, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in Melbourne, said in a note to clients Sunday after the deal was first reported. CKI may have to take on an Australian partner to help secure approval, Johnston said, and noted local pension fund UniSuper already has a 16 per cent stake.

The logo for Australia's biggest electricity network Ausgrid adorns the headquarters building in central Sydney, Australia. Photo: Reuters

Duet’s shares jumped as much as 20 per cent to A$2.82, the highest since Sept. 10, 2008. UniSuper’s investment team is waiting for more information on the deal, a spokeswoman said.